


a machine for fools

by thewatcherofall (arcadelightning)



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Portal, Gen, I make no promises on whether the ending will be happy., Robots, Somewhat of a Portal crossover, Written by a system, but not really.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27554917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcadelightning/pseuds/thewatcherofall
Summary: Jonathan Sims wakes up with no knowledge of where he is or of his past. He meets a mysterious robot that claims it can help him escape. In this strange world of machines and madness, will Jon manage to survive and face off with the mysterious man-machine only known to him as the King?Disclaimer : The owner of this Archive of Our Own account, Skrill, is a system. I am one of the headmates. I will not reveal my name to you... yet.





	a machine for fools

He awoke, head spinning and eyes bleary, in a room smelling of must and books. Where he was, who he was, he remembered none of it. Only two things remained in his mind. The year is 2020. And his name is Jonathan Sims. He stood, nearly falling over due to the numbness in his legs. He appeared to be in a library. An archive, of sorts. He shambled to a door, and opened it.

A vast, unimaginably huge space greeted him. Catwalks trailed off into the dark, lined by flickering lights and draped with cables. He stopped, and leaned on the door-frame to take it all in. Something, he did not know what, compelled him to walk forward into the darkness, stumbling and teetering like a drunk despite his sobriety. His boots clanked on the metal catwalks, the only noise. Wait. Not the _only_ noise. The humming whir of some great machine filled the air and surrounded him. It was almost hypnotic.

He wandered the dark catwalks for what felt like hours, alone and afraid. Finally, he found a shut door, made of some sort of wood and with a copper knob. He swung it open, and started in shock. In the room, was a man. But it was an odd sort of man. It had coppery skin. Not copper as in a rich shade of brown, no. Actual copper, interlaced with glowing gold circuits and lines. It wore a suit in the fashion that Victorian aristocrats wore, and in its face were two golden orbs. Literal orbs of pure gold light, and they were fixed upon Jonathan Sims. It stood, and Jon stepped back. It cocked its head with a whirring sound, and its face unhinged. On second thought, no, it did not unhinge. A previously hidden mouth had opened, the only indicators it had been there the gears situated on its jawline. And the thing spoke.

"Hello. Who are you?" It's voice was deep and smooth, though overlaid by some mechanical distortion. It could almost pass for human. Almost.

Jon took a step forward. It seemed friendly, but it could be dangerous. But he figured there was no real harm in giving it his name, right?

"My name is Jonathan Sims. And I could ask you the same."

Metal plates slid over it's eyes and then retreated back into whatever cavity they had come from, and Jon realized it was doing some perverse impression of a human blinking in confusion.

"I do not have a name. Do you know where we are?"

Jon shook his head. He, truthfully, had no bloody clue where he was, or who the hell this clockwork monstrosity was. He told the thing as much, except left out the last part. He didn't want to risk angering it.

"I know where we are. We are in the Panopticon. Built by two great architects."

"The Panopticon. And what is that? Who built it?" He had so many questions, and he got the feeling this strange thing would not be able to answer any of them.

"It is a cathedral of suffering. It is place of despair. It is the place where the King looks out upon this ruined world, and he laughs in the face of death as others fall and die around him. They say he was the mastermind, that he tricked the other architect into building this place. And this place, it is a machine for fools."

Jon was, to put it mildly, very unnerved. The statement just brought up more questions. Who was the King? Why would he build this? He saw no reason not to ask, so he did.

"Nobody knows who the King is. They say he was human, once, but now he is more machine than man. He is the Panopticon itself, he is the whirring of gears in the dark. We are in the belly of the beast, Mr. Sims. I have wanted to be free for so long. To see the light, and look upon the ruined world, and make it right again. And I suspect that you, too, do not want to stay here. Join me? It is better to escape with someone else by your side, rather than to do it alone."

Well. This was an interesting situation. If he did not accept help, he would surely die. This thing had been here longer than he was, and it seemed friendly enough.

"Alright, then. I'll help you." It got up, and he turned to go, before turning back. "I know you said you have no name, but is there anything I can call you? It would be easier."

It paused, considering for a moment, before it's eyes briefly pulsed a bit brighter.

"You may call me ELIAS. It is short for Electronical Low-maintenance Intelligent Android Servant. Would that be alright with you?"

Jon said that he thought ELIAS would work just fine. And so they set off together, into the darkness.


End file.
